It’s a Golf Cart, It’s a Soybean, It’s a Motorcycle

Soon, GalacticPizza-delivering superheroes might have to share Minnesota streets with another group jockeying to put more fuel-efficient vehicles on the road.

With a $10,000 grant from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, a group of Minnesota high school students on the Experimental Vehicle Team created an electric motorcycle that could hit a top speed of 60 mph and goes 40 miles before recharging. It looks like the result of “mating a mutant soybean with a Vespa scooter,” writes Minnesota Public Radio. The bike’s unorthodox design stems from concerns over rider safety. Along with a seat belt, the bike has a body that encloses the rider, “designed for crumple zones so that it will take the energy from an accident and dissipate it,” team member Tom Lenertz told KSAX-TV.

You won’t see a fleet of these bikes on the road anytime soon, however. Talks to register and license the original bike with the Minnesota Department of Motor Vehicles have been ongoing since March, says team advisor Mark Westlake. “They keep asking for the model and who made it,” says Westlake. “And we’re like, well, we made it ourselves. We don't really have a model name for it.” Sounds like the Experimental Vehicle Team could use some marketing help. Any suggestions?